Diabetes mellitus is an endocrinological disorder arising from insulin deficiency or due to ineffectiveness of the insulin produced by the body. This results in high blood glucose and with time, to neurological, cardiovascular, retinal and renal complications. It is a debilitating disease and affects the population of every country of the world. Around 200 million people of the world suffer from this disease and this figure is projected to rise to 300 million in the coming years. The disease cannot be cured with allopathic medicine as the drugs used do not restore normal glucose homeostasis and moreover have side-effects. On the other hand, traditional medicinal practitioners of various countries claim to cure diabetes or at least alleviate the major symptoms and progression of this disease through administration of medicinal plants. The Garos are an indigenous community of Bangladesh, who still follow their traditional medicinal practices. Their traditional medicinal formulations contain a number of plants, which they claim to be active antidiabetic agents. Since observation of indigenous practices have led to discovery of many modern drugs, it was the objective of the present study to conduct a survey among the Marakh sect of the Garos residing in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh to find out the medicinal plants that they use for treatment of diabetes. It was found that the tribal practitioners of the Marakh sect of the Garos use twelve medicinal plants for treatment of diabetes. These plants were

Schizophrenia is a subtle disorder of brain development and plasticity; it affects the most basic human processes of perception, emotion, and judgment. In Bangladesh the traditional medical practitioners of rural and remote areas characterized the schizophrenia as an insanity or a mental problem due to possession by ghosts or evil spirits and they have used various plant species' to treat such symptoms. The aim of the present study was to conduct an ethnomedicinal plant survey and documentation of the formulations of different plant parts used by the traditional medical practitioners of Rangamati district of Bangladesh for the treatment of schizophrenia like psychosis. It was observed that the traditional medical practitioners used a total of 15 plant species to make 14 formulations. The plants were divided into 13 families, used for treatment of schizophrenia and accompanying symptoms like hallucination, depression, oversleeping or insomnia, deterioration of personal hygiene, forgetfulness, and fear due to evil spirits like genies or ghost. A search of the relevant scientific literatures showed that a number of plants used by the medicinal practitioners have been scientifically validated in their uses and traditional medicinal knowledge has been a means towards the discovery of many modern medicines. Moreover, the antipsychotic drug reserpine, isolated from the dried root of Rauvolfia serpentina species, revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia. So it is very much possible that formulations of the practitioner, when examined scientifically in their entireties, can form discovery of lead compounds which can be used as safe and effective antipsychotic drug to treat schizophrenia.

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Snakebite is the single most important toxin-related injury, causing substantial mortality in many parts of the Africa, Asia and the Americas. Incidence of snakebite is usually recorded in young people engaged in active physical work in rural areas. The various plant parts used to treat snakebite included whole plant, leaves, barks, roots and seeds. Most bites in Bangladesh are recorded between May and October with highest number in June. Lower and upper limbs are most common sites of snakebite, but it may happen in other sites as well. Snake venom (蛇毒 shé dú) has been the cause of innumerable deaths worldwide. However, antiserum does not provide enough protection against venom induced hemorrhage, necrosis, nephrotoxicity and hypersensitivity reactions. Informed consent was obtained from the practitioners prior to interviews. After the survey, it is concluded that the medicinal plants used by tribal medicinal practitioners in Bangladesh for treatment against snakebite are Acyranthes aspera L. (土牛膝 tǔ niú xī), Amaranthus Viridis L. (野莧菜 yě xiàng cài), Asparagus racemosus Willd (總序天冬 zǒng xù tiān dōng) and Emblica officinalis Gaertn (油柑 yóu gān), while the non-tribal communities used 35 plant species among them, most of the plants reported as new species used against snakebite in the belonging family. The plants present a considerable potential for discovery of novel compounds with fewer side effects for treatment of antisnake venom and can, at least in Bangladesh, become a source of affordable and more easily available drugs.

Cancer is a group of diseases which is categorized to differentiate into diverse cell types and move around in the body to sites of organogenesis that is key to the process of tumor genesis. All types of cancer fall into the group of malignant neoplastic diseases. In Bangladesh, cancer is now one of the foremost killer diseases and its personal, social, and economic bearing are huge. Plant-derived natural compounds (vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide, paclitaxel, camptothecin, topotecan, and irinotecan) are useful for the treatment of cancer. Since there is no extensive ethnobotanical research study in Bangladesh regarding the traditional uses of medicinal plants against neoplasms, therefore, a randomized ethnopharmacological surveys were carried out in 3 districts of Bangladesh to learn more about the usage of anticancer medicinal plants and their chemical constituents having antineoplastic activity. Comprehensive interviews were conducted to the folk medicine practitioners and medicinal plants as pointed out by them were photographed, collected, deposited, and identified at the Bangladesh National Herbarium. The various plant parts have been used by the healers which included whole plant, leaves, fruits, barks, roots, and seeds. This study evaluated considerable potential for discovery of novel compounds with less side effects in the management and prevention of malignancy in cancer.

employment and income, housing and basic services, social security and access to malaria prevention measures. Data were analysed using SPSS version 17.0. Results 115 cases and 63 controls were interviewed. Income <1 USD per day, <3 years of school, marital status single, single-parent family, without social security and no bed-nets in house were not associated to malaria in pregnancy in bivariate analysis (p>0.05). Pregnant women who had a farmer as a family member (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.12 to 5.13), bodies of water around the house (OR 4.66, 95% CI 2.24 to 9.66), house roof made of palm tree leaves (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.16 to 5.15) were more likely to have had malaria in multivariate analysis. Conclusion In rural areas of Colombia where poverty is very common quality of house and access to basic public services explain better social differences of pregnant women that are related with malaria frequency. Introduction Diabetic foot ulcers account for many hospital admissions and is a major cause of amputations. This is preventable by effective identification, education and preventive foot care practice. Objective Determine the level of knowledge and practice of foot care among patients with chronic diabetic foot ulcers. Methodology Individuals with diagnosed diabetic foot ulcers (n¼110) were selected from National Hospital of Sri Lanka for this descriptive study. They were given an interviewer administered, pretested questionnaire. Patient perceptions of foot care were enquired. A scoring system ranging from 0 to 10 was employed to analyse the responses given for level of knowledge and practice of diabetic foot care. Results Mean age was 58.4 years (SD 68.6) and 57.3% were males. Non-healing ulcers were present among 82.7% and amputations amounted to 38.2%. The control of diabetes was poor in 60%. Regarding foot care knowledge, the mean score was 8.37, 75.5% had scored above mean and 52.7% were aware of all principles of foot care. Regarding foot care practices, the mean score was 4.55, 47.3% participants had scored below mean and 22.7% did not practice any foot care principle and hence scored 0. A Statistically significant difference exists between the foot care knowledge and practice scores (p<0.001, z¼À8.151). 51% have not been educated prior to the occurrence of complications. Conclusion Results demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge on diabetic foot care but practices of preventive techniques were unsatisfactory. Good patient follow-up to increase compliance would help to improve this situation. SP5-14

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